by phisme72

I once knew a guy who insisted that January was the coldest month of the year. I went back and forth with him on it, I always felt it was more December that was the freezing month. Well, I think THIS January is sure winning the record. WHOA!!! I’m in the deep south too, and I know what you folks up north would probably say, “That’s nothing, what you’ve got down there!” Well for folks in the north, yeah, our cold here can’t compete with you, but it’s certainly a relative amount of suffering via low temps all around!

So, an update on where I’m at in the writing world. “Cataclysm Epoch” is out for two months as of today. Check out the bookmarks and buttons I had made for it!

“Cataclysm Epoch” is getting some good reviews, and I’m pleased. The word’s getting out quicker, and thanks to my email list I’m able to reach a lot more people to spread the word faster. Did you know about my email list? I send an email out roughly once a month or so to update on my new releases and also to share free ebook deals I find. You can sign up for free and cancel at any time, no hassles at all. I’ll even throw in a free book just for signing up! Here’s a link: Paul’s Update

I have begun the beta reading process for “Settling Darkness”, the sequel to “Cataclysm Epoch”! I’m targeting a late summer/early fall release this year, so stay tuned! Also working on the untitled THIRD book in this series. Yep, I’m gonna have a trilogy pretty soon! There’s plenty of stories and ideas coming too!

I hope you’re keeping warm, preferably with a good book somewhere!
-Paul

I’m pleased to announce my novel “Cataclysm Epoch” is available in Kindle and paperback on Amazon.com!Cataclysm Epoch on Amazon

This marks the end of a five year journey that began back in 2012 when I sat down in a Barnes and Noble in my hometown, fired up my laptop and my imagination. I’d already seen the first “Hunger Games” film by then, and it really made an impact with me. I hadn’t really read dystopian sci-fi to that point, and Suzanne Collins’ story and characters really got my wheels turning on what I could do in that genre.

I’ve been a fan of the strong female characters for awhile though. From Princess Leia in Star Wars, to Sarah Connor in the Terminator series, to Ellen Ripley in the Alien series and so on. All the way to today with the wonderful Daisy Ridley in the new Star Wars trilogy (The Last Jedi debuts in less than two weeks!!!!), I like stories about tough women who can overcome, improvise, and kick some serious butt.

I hope you take a look at my latest work, and if you do please be so kind to leave a review, I’d love to know what you think! I’m polishing the sequel to “Cataclysm Epoch” now, and plan on having it out next year. Take care and I hope you’re enjoying life!

Hi there, how’s your fall going so far? Has the weather cooled off enough for you yet? In the southern US, where I live, our version of cool is probably way warmer than you folks in the north are accustomed to. When the temps dip to the 50s through the low 70s, we’re all breathing a sigh of relief that fall is finally here. Of course, we get these crazy fluctuations so even though we’ll get cool temps we’ll still get those 80-degree days as well. The weather sure keeps us guessing around here.

So, about the title of this post. My next novel “Cataclysm Epoch” is ready to debut on Kindle on Friday November 17, 2017! I’m so very excited about this, and to have it happen on that date, 11/17… that happens to be five years from the date I first sat in a Barnes and Noble with my laptop and typed up a simple text file. I was inspired at the time by the Hunger Games, and I wanted to come up with my own story like that. It took some time, some life experiences, and a good amount of effort, but it came to fruition, and I am very proud to share this with you!

Also on the good news side, you may have seen me comment how I entered “Cataclysm Epoch” into the 2017 William Faulkner William Wisdom writing competition in New Orleans. Well, they’ve announced the results and the novel was selected as a semi-finalist! I’m very excited and honored by the judges’ consideration.

Hello again, it has been awhile and I wanted to catch you up on what I’ve been up to these past several months.

I’ve submitted my upcoming novel “Cataclysm Epoch” for consideration in the 2017 William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition in New Orleans. I’ll know if it made the semi-finals on September 25, and I’m pretty excited about this. The contest is held annually and has several categories including fiction novels, non-fiction novels, novellas, essays, short stories, even poetry. I’ll keep you posted on what happens!

In addition, I’m not just sitting here waiting for September 25 to roll around… I’ve started another novel! This is a sequel to “Cataclysm Epoch” and the second book of my sci-fi trilogy. I’m 46000 words into the first draft so far and it’s going well. I have a feeling I’ll be writing in some regard about this character for a long time to come.

And speaking of writing and books, here’s what I meant by the “needing help” part of this post title. I’m looking for a special group of people that can help me push my writing to the next level. I want to send you copies of my books, starting with “Cataclysm Epoch” if you’re willing to read and write a review for them. In return, I’m willing to send you copies of my books before they’re published, for FREE. Also, I’m putting together some great giveaways like e-readers and gift certificates that you’d be eligible for. And I’ll even mention your name in the acknowledgements at the front of the book. There’s no cost to you at all, just a little time and all the free books from me I can churn out, and I’ve got a lot coming up, a sci-fi trilogy for starters!

Hi there, how’s your 2017 going so far? We had a rough start in my hometown, some nasty tornadoes ripped through the area pretty good. Thankfully no one has died due to the bad weather though.

I’m hard at work on finishing up the dystopian novel, book one of an intended trilogy. I’ve gotten feedback from a good friend and writing buddy, and I’ve decided to make some revisions. I’ve been working on this one for a while now (since 2012), and at times I wonder if I’ll ever get finished. I’m heartened though that whenever I make adjustments, the story seems to pull a little bit tighter together, so it still feels good when I look at the whole picture.

I’ve got a short story submitted to the Wundor Editions Short Fiction 2017 Contest in jolly old England. Wish me luck! I’ll find out if I won by late March.

The Bayou Writers Club has resumed their meetings for 2017. Lisa, our organizer, is doing her part to make sure everyone not only has incentives to write, but also specified goals to work for. I think it helps people who may have considered writing for years but never sat down to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to do the work and get it done. It’s not easy, for sure. I compare it a little to the exercise mentality. You know how so many people (perhaps even yourself) say after New Years: “I’m gonna get to the gym this year and get in shape!” Then, what happens? I have a gym membership myself, so I can see it – a lot of people go in January, but a few months into the year (if that), people drop off.

Motivation is good, motivation is important. But persistence is the key. Keep yourself to it. Imagine the finished work. Think of why you’re doing it: to be published, make money, or just to get something out there. I go back and forth on why I write. At the end of the day, I care about the story, and sharing it. Of course, I wouldn’t turn down the chance to make gobs of money, but I still enjoy making the story work, and hopefully interesting to other people.

Hello again, I hope things are going well for you, wherever you are. The weather over here has gotten progressively warmer in recent days. Fortunately the evenings and mornings are still on the cool side for now. I’m sure that will be ending soon. At least the garden stuff is growing more now these days – just wish the grass wasn’t growing as quick 🙂 #honeydolist

Anyway, sharing some exciting news from me in the writing realm. I have indie published my novel Leave from Absence last month, and it is now available on Amazon.com in Kindle format! The print copy will be available shortly. I’m super excited about this, as this book has been several years in the making. I believe I started this one roughly as far back as 2012. It has seen several rewrites and a few critiques, and has weathered much. I’m very happy with finally being able to share it with you, and I hope you enjoy it. It’s a story from the heart.

In addition to releasing Leave from Absence, I’ve been hard at work revising my dystopian manuscript. I plan on having this one ready to pitch by mid 2017. Right now I’m retooling it, and tightening it up. Feels like the story is there, just trying to smooth out the bumps. Also, I have some short stories in the works that I hope to be getting out in the next several months, so be sure and stay tuned for that one!

On my last post on this blog, I mentioned writing goals. I’m glad to say I’ve been able to reach a few of them, and even surpass one. Here’s a recap of my goals for 2016, and where I stand with them:

Get to 700 followers on my twitter account,@tanis2112I’m up to 718 followers and counting. If you’re on twitter, look me up!

Write four blog posts over the year [counting this one? maybe ] This one is halfway there. Two on the year by early April 🙂

Either self publish or query my general fic manuscript (title forthcoming… I like surprises lol) Done! Off and running with the Kindle version, print version forthcoming!

Complete two short stories and submit them either to contests or for consideration to be Kindle Singles In the works currently. Need to revise, so that’s on my to-do list.

Make significant progress on my sci-fi manuscript (title forthcoming… see above about surprises) Also in progress.

I understand several members of the Bayou Writers Club recently attended the Jambalaya Writers Conference presented by the Terrebonne Parish Library system in Houma, LA. I’m looking forward to catching up with them on this and will pass along any tidbits I hear on this. I’m hoping to work in attending writer conventions at some point in my future, if nothing else I want to attend the Writers Digest convention in New York when it’s time to pitch my dystopian manuscript, but that’s still a bit in the future.

Anyway, that’s my piece for now. I hope you are keeping busy, being creating and just enjoying life wherever you’re at. All the best to you!

Greetings, I hope your 2016 is going ok so far. We’ve sure had a bumpy start, with all these iconic musicians and actors leaving us so early in the year. Hopefully we won’t have much more bad news for awhile.

My writers group Bayou Writers Club held their first meeting of 2016, and it was suggested of the members that we come up with writing resolutions. Ya know, kind of like New Year’s Resolutions but writing related? Typically I’ve shied away from these and New Year’s Resolutions in general, because I just haven’t had a lot of luck with them in the past.

However…

I’ve also done pretty well with goals for myself, so I’m opting to think of these more as “goals” than “resolutions”, since aren’t resolutions kind of apt for being broken? Gym workout resolutions, anyone??

So, I figured I’d put my writing goals for 2016 here so you can see them and I can come back and update you throughout the year on my progress. Now some of these have to do specifically with writing, but not all of them do. Some are for more of the complimentary stuff for writing, like getting twitter followers or (ahem) blog posts. Ok, here we go, in no particular order:

And here we are… another Christmas is upon us. Are you ready? Well, it’s here. I hope you all have a wonderful time with family and friends. Or, if you find yourself without on this holiday season, I wish you every happiness possible, and hope that you can find some hope and joy in this time.

I’m so thankful to be finally wrapping up my first manuscript. It’s all over but the formatting at this point. I will be putting the finishing touches on it in the weeks to come and I hope to make an announcement on it at some point in the spring of 2016! Also very excited because this means I can focus on my dystopian manuscript, which I intend to get ready for pitching by 2017! Plenty of work ahead.

My writers group Bayou Writers Club will be doing a lot in the coming year, from wrapping up their group book project “Swan of the Seas”, to unleashing a new website (I haven’t even seen it yet. Can’t wait), and hosting many more presentations on all the different aspects of writing. I’ll be helping with at least one presentation on Scrivener, the writing tool. Ever hear of Scrivener? I’ve been using it exclusively for writing for over a year now and it’s wonderful.

Anyway, the eggnog is calling me. I will see you all again soon, may you have a wonderful Christmas, New Year, and holiday season!

Hello again, a little review of some irons in the fire and a little more introspection.

I’m almost finished making revisions off the latest critique of my first general fiction manuscript. It’s about a twentysomething guy who is a bit aimless, having just dropped out of college and summarily kicked out of his house by his folks and left to figure out what he wants to do with his life. He works through some interesting, occasionally uncomfortable situations with his two closest friends, who also are dealing with balancing work, friends, love, sex and that irresistible lure of social media.

Hmm, I sound like I’m writing back cover copy. Hey, it’s late and my mind is wandering, bear with me 🙂

Another quick pass to tighten up a few things like grammar and I believe I’m ready to put this one to bed – meaning, send out some queries and see what happens. I’m pretty excited and of course a bit nervous about this as well. Will keep you posted once I launch into Query mode on this one, which should happen by early 2016 if not sooner!

Hot on the heels of the general fic is my dystopia. My nutshell description of the main character is she’s kinda a cross between Joan of Arc, Wyatt Earp, and perhaps Sarah Connor (in badass mode). Plan for that one is to work through that over the course of 2016 and get it ready for submission. More details on that one to follow.

About a week and a half ago I attended a software convention. At this convention, professional speaker Seth Mattison gave an incredible presentation that went into the whole affect that the new culture of the millennials is having and will have on the existing unwritten rules and guidelines of the workplace to date. It was fascinating stuff to me. As a Gen Xer, I suppose I kind of have one foot in more of the “old school” approach to business, aka when you’re new at a company you keep your mouth shut and pay your dues and then maybe if you behave long enough you get to contribute and have your say.

That being said, I like to think I have a little bit in the social media slash newer approach to idea sharing (hello have you been reading this blog?) But I know I’m not at the level of many of the younger crowd, instagramming and pinteresting and such all over the place. But being out there and just checking things over is pretty fun. It’s tough to maintain that balance though, between having fun and keeping myself on track to things like the finishing of the two manuscripts I mentioned.

Another point Seth touched on, which really got to me, was to show gratitude for those who have helped you get to where you are. At one point in his talk, he asked everyone in the audience to write down the name of one person who had an impact on getting ourselves to where we are today. Without thinking or hesitating, I wrote my mother’s name down. Then, Seth encouraged the audience to contact that person to thank them, if we are able to.

Sadly, I’m not able to. Lost my mom in 2013. However, her influence over me is as strong today as ever. In addition to the countless carpools, homework help, cooking, cleaning, etc mom did without any thought of reward over the years, she supported my writing ambitions. She insisted she get to read the first draft of my general fic manuscript. Who was I to say no? Not only did she read it, she emailed her thoughts to me. Ever loving, caring and supporting. I cherish that moment with her as one of many examples of how much she supported me.

Who in your life helped you get to where you are today? Have you thanked them? Are you still in touch with them regularly? If not, and you’re able to, why not reach out to them to thank them for what they did for you.

I recently watched two distinct but (in my mind) somewhat related movies about goals and reaching for them. “Everest” and “The Walk”.

“Everest” chronicles the doomed 1996 expedition to reach the summit of Everest, where most of the people making the attempt to ascend the mountain were lost at some point due in part to a severe winter storm that came through while the climbers were at or near the summit.

“The Walk” recounts Philippe Petit, the man who walked across a tightrope suspended from between the then twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York (quite illegally at that).

Now, what do these two have in common with whatever I’m trying to say here? I’ll tell you.

I’m a big goals person. If you know me at all, you know I usually have one or more goals in mind. Years back, it may have been preparing a piece of music in grade school or high school to be judged in a solo and ensemble festival. Later years, my goals included things like getting my grades up in college after a tough semester, or studying to get an IT Certification.

As of late, several of my goals are writing related. Publishing short stories, novels, etc.

I think it’s not only good to have a goal, but to do whatever you can to strive towards it. I watched “The Walk” and it really locked in with me, the struggle of Petit to do something big, to make a statement, no matter how over the top grandiose or extremely dangerous it was.

I’m sure he felt the danger. Watching the movie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s great portrayal of Petit, stepping out and just enveloping himself in his dream, his goal. It really resonated with me. I think of my writing goals often, and while I’m not exactly scaling the World Trade Center or climbing Mount Everest, they are every bit as important to me as I’m sure Petit’s walk and those climbers of Everest held their aspirations.

One of the climbers depicted in “Everest”, a Japanese woman named Yasuko, evidently had a goal to ascend the seven highest mountain peaks in the world. Her ascent of Everest in 1996 was the seventh and final ascent, and she made it. Tragically, her story didn’t end well afterward. But the spirit she had to aim for that goal, and press on in spite of what turned out to be insurmountable odds, touched and inspired me deeply.

Maybe it’s easy for me to tout having goals, sitting at a laptop and typing away, where my biggest threats are likely eye strain and carpal tunnel syndrome. But I feel inspired by people who reach out and strive to accomplish. It’s a part of life that I think makes things worthwhile. It’s not the only thing, but it is a tremendous part.